The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-11-19

the longer for our attempts, The
natives said that my heaving the
stones into the water had annoyed
the octopus and brought him up for
fight, and that but for my action we
should have seen nothing of him.
For over four years l was mate and
master of small schooner plying be
tween the Spice islands aud sigma
pore, in the interest of an American
trader. do not think 1 made sim
gle trip without seeing from one to a
dozen of the horrible devil fish. One
day in the Branda sea it fell a dead
calm, and current drifted us close
in upon an island to the north of the
Lesser Timor. We let go the anchor
in little bay, and when the schoon-
brought up she was in twelve feet of
water and within fifty feet of the
beach.
. The island was about three miles
long by one broad, and covered with
forest and underbrush. 1t was chart.
cred as uninhabited, except by pearl
divers or wrechers, and as the wealth.
er Dade fair to hold pleasant no anch-
or watch was set. AS the weather
was hot the sailors slept on deck,
there being one white man and five
natives. Everything passed off qui-
city until just in the gray of the
morning, when terrible commotion
on deck routed me out. 1t seemed
that an octopus had crawled up the
low side of the schooner, perhaps to
crafty its curiosity, but seeing the
sleeping men had, perhaps, also to
crafty its curiosity, flung feeler at
one of them, and taken such hold
of his hand and arm that he awoke
with shout of pain, The others
were also aroused, and seeing what
had happened they seized whatever
weapons were at hand and made the
octopus release its hold. | came on
deck just as it fell into the water, and
the splash was as heavy as if man
had fallen overheard. A portion of
the feeIer which had grasped the sail
or had been broken off by the blows.
There were three or four feet of it,
and for time it squirmed and twist
ed about the deck like a snake. 1t
had touched the mans flesh only in
one spot on the back of the hand,
but he made as much ado over it as
one would bullet in the leg. 1t was
a horrible wound, however. The
flesh was puckered up and blistered.
and the spot where the cup had taken
hold looked like an eryesipelas
sore. 1t was long four weeks before
the wound healed, and the scar left
closely resembling that of burn.
l had the sailor in the cabin dres-
sing his hand, and it was twenty
minutes after we had beaten off the
octopus, when there was another cry
from the deck, and | heard the men
run forward and tumble into The for.
castle and slide the cover. More from
instinct than any thought of danger
| closed the cabin door, then the sky
light which lighted the cabin. There
was slide door in the forcastle bulk
head communicating with the hold,
and also one from the cabin. After
two or three minutes the sailors came
climbing over the cargo-we being
about one third full-and | let them
into the cabin. | never saw a more
frightened lot of men, and l could
not at first believe the story they
told. They said that when the octo-
pus fell into the water he swan off in
the direction of a rocky reef on our
feet. After few minutes the men
noticed a considerable cOmmoti0n in
the water, and this gradually ap
preached. All at once they made out
five or six OctOpuSes at the vessel.
side, aud before they drew back and
ran away the monsters were throw
ing their feelers over the low bull
warks.
"There's one Of 'em, sir-there's
one ~ shouted the mate at this mo-
ment, and we turned to the skylight
To see three or four of the horrible
feelers playing over it. At the same
moment the schooner was canted to
port with sudden pull all of three
streaks, or with as much force as a
strong puff of wind would have ex-
ercised in the open sea. At this
movement all the natives broke out
in yell of alright, and, as | sternly
rebuked them, one of them exclaim-
ed:
"Oh! Captain, the devil fish have
come aboard, and not one of us can
escape !"
There was no longer any doubt that
we were beset by the creatures. There
was not a second in which the feelers
,Uaro npt nIayinu nuar fhe Sk Uliuht